CeMAT takes important step towards integration

With the motto ‘Smart Supply Chain Solutions’ this year’s CeMAT revealed that demands on intralogistics continue to grow rapidly. Solutions must be intelligent, connected, highly flexible, transparent, fast, and efficient. In today’s manufacturing, ‘batch size 1’ is more and more in demand, mirroring the individual nature of online orders in the retail business. In both scenarios, customers expect immediate availability along with continuously decreasing prices. This is only possible with new Industrie 4.0 concepts that enable the close, intelligent integration of production and logistics.

For this reason, starting in 2018 CeMAT will run concurrently with HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology, from 23 to 27 April. “Intelligent intralogistics is the backbone of and key to Industrie 4.0. When we talk about showing the complete industrial value chain, intralogistics plays a crucial role, because it ensures that parts can be moved and transported in the first place,” explained Dr. Andreas Gruchow, member of the managing board at Deutsche Messe.

“We received lots of positive feedback about CeMAT 2016. Exhibitors presented numerous innovations and products under the lead theme ‘Smart Supply Chain Solutions’. Visitors experienced not only state of the art intralogistics, but also concepts and solutions for the future. The technology convergence driven by Industrie 4.0 was very evident. This confirms that co-locating with HANNOVER MESSE in 2018 is the right decision,” said Sascha Schmel, chairman of the Materials Handling & Intralogistics Association within the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).

CeMAT already shares close thematic ties with the Industrial Automation and Digital Factory sectors of HANNOVER MESSE. From 2018 on, the two events are teaming up to take advantage of the synergies surrounding Industrie 4.0. This creates a unique global event that presents the full scope of cutting-edge technologies all at a single time and place.